Thanks to Hedi Furrer for this first-person account of the Toronto Bruce Trail Club’s coach trip to Magog Quebec during the Family Day week in February
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Be careful what you wish for! After last year’s great TBTC winter weekend trip to Gatineau, we started to do our snow dance. There was very little snow in Gatineau, and we wanted to enjoy more snow in Magog. “SNOW DANCE EVERYBODY!”
It worked a little too well. On the Friday when we left we had lots of fluffy, beautiful snow. We had to climb over a big snowbank with suitcases, skis, and snowshoes to load the bus. The trip to the Parc national du Mont- Orford went well. The highways were clear, and we were delighted to spend a cold but gorgeous afternoon skiing and snowshoeing in the park. It has 50 km of well-groomed ski trails and 15 exciting snowshoe trails. After checking into the Auberge du Grand Lac we had time to discover the cute Quebec village.
The next morning at breakfast we compared notes. Everybody talked about their dinner choices; some stayed in (picnic in the hotel room), others enjoyed an exquisite, expensive ‘table d’hôte’, lovely cheese fondue, yummy soup, Lebanese meal, vegan menu, or fish and chips in the many different restaurants and brasseries in town.
Saturday was a gorgeous day, a bit nippy, but nice and sunny. I was skiing to the north end (about 7 kilometres) to a warm-up chalet where Martina had promised me a cappuccino, when I bumped into her on the trail. We decided to go for a break together but got terribly lost. We asked everybody we met but nobody could help us; we were asking for the wrong chalet!
On Sunday the snow started. Magog was under a heavy snowfall warning. I stayed in town because I had a bad cold. The skiers and snowshoers enjoyed a super day, a bit shortened because of the treacherous driving conditions. The snow was accumulating fast, the roads were being ploughed almost every half hour, and our trip to Abbaye St-Benoit-Du-Lac had to be cancelled.
I ventured out for some small walks in town. The Fête des Neiges was on down by the lake and to my surprise there were lots of families out in the blizzard enjoying winter fun. The 2.8 km long ice-skating trail was open and the snow blower drove up and down continuously clearing the ice. What great service!
In the afternoon, while skiing in the blizzard, Martina got a call from the bus company that was going to take us to the park on Monday. They wanted to cancel the bus due to the bad driving conditions (the second bus was needed so our driver, Justin, would not run out of hours during the trip home). Later, the hotel manager called Martina and asked whether we needed to stay another day since the driving was so dangerous. At least this conversation was in English and in the hotel room and she could better understand what was said. I think Martina got ‘a little nervous’ at that point. The hike leaders then decided to leave earlier for Toronto and not visit the park on Monday.
Before starting the long trip home, we wanted to go for a short walk. It was bitter, bitter cold and the wind and snow were vicious. Some of our members suggested running up to the church (about 800 metres away), going inside and warming up, and then running back. Running was not really possible since the snowbanks were three feet high and the sidewalks covered in a foot of snow. While in church, a few of us took the opportunity to say a prayer for a safe trip home and that was certainly necessary. White-out after white-out followed us until we reached Montreal, an adventure none of us would like to repeat.
We were an awesome and mixed group of skiers and snowshoers; happy, outgoing, adventurous, and grateful. The age difference between the oldest and the youngest must have been 65 to 70 years. I admire our oldest skiers who have the guts to go on the hardest trails (I have given up on the black diamonds), and the three young men who joined us were super energetic, friendly, and helpful. I hope everyone will come back next winter.
A huge THANK YOU to all the leaders that made this trip so successful and fun: Leonora Rochwerger, Marie-Josée Roy, Kadhim Taki, Tim Wainwright, and Martina Furrer. Your efforts and careful planning are greatly appreciated.
Join us and practice a measured snow dance for next year. Winter is amazing if you embrace it.